Sports
The Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks will travel to Sydney, Australia, for the Opening Series of Major League Baseball in 2014 – the first time the high profile sporting event has ever been held in Australia.
This will be only the sixth time the home opener has ever been held in the United States. Does that include Canada?
Canada does have one – and used to have two – baseball teams in Major League Baseball.
Could Australia be far behind? Perhaps, but Australian officials are probably more interested in the television impact of broadcasting the games in key neighboring markets such as China, Korea, and Japan – not to mention the United States.
Sporting events can have a massive effect on tourism.
“Sydney will host the first two games for the Opening Series of 2014 Major League Baseball, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, on Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 March 2014,” New South Wales (NSW) Premier Barry O’Farrell says.
“The Opening Series will feature the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Arizona Diamondbacks playing the first two games of the season. This is a significant win for Sydney and again delivers on my election commitment to bring major events to NSW.”
The Major Baseball League Opening Series will be broadcast not only in the United States and Australia, but also in China, Korea, and Japan, where baseball is hugely popular.
The television coverage is expected that 168 million households, including 75 million in the United States, 49 million households in Japan, and 20 million in China.
Australian tourism officials are hoping that the television exposure will have a positive impact on tourism from these key travel markets.